KARACHI: Witnesses in boiler blast case fail to testify
By A Reporter
KARACHI, Dec 6: The additional district and sessions judge-II, Central, Nelofer Shahnawaz Azimi, on Thursday adjourned till Dec 7 the hearing of a boiler explosion case.
The blast, which occurred at a towel-dyeing and bleaching factory in New Karachi, left nine people dead and 25 others injured.
Three prosecution witnesses, Habib-ur-Rahman, Riaz and Shah Hussain, appeared before the court, but their statements could not be recorded as the lawyers stayed away from court proceedings due to a nationwide boycott call. They will record their statements on Friday (today).
On Nov 30, the court indicted Akhtar Hussain Baloch, owner of the factory, and Mohammad Ashanullah, the boiler operator, on a manslaughter charge.
They pleaded not guilty and opted to contest the case. The court also summoned 48 prosecution witnesses, including eight policemen, to record their statements.
A case (FIR 359/07) was registered against them at the Taimuria police station after the boiler exploded on July 24, 2007.
The investigation officer attributed the long delay in the submission of a final charge-sheet to the non-availability of an inquiry report that was being prepared by the boiler inspection wing of the Sindh government’s directorate of industries.
Investigation Officer Mohammad Ilyas finally submitted the charge-sheet to the court of judicial magistrate-12, Central, Abdul Zahoor Chandio on Sept 24.
Referring to a parallel inquiry conducted by officials of the directorate of industries, the investigation officer stated that a boiler operator must hold a licence to handle the job and should be well-versed with the operation of the machinery.
“The boiler that exploded did not have safety devices in place and also lacked a heat intensity gauge meter”, the investigation officer stated in his report, adding that the investigation had revealed the factory owner was guilty of negligence as he was supposed to ensure the maintenance of safety standards at his factory.
Both the accused were arrested soon after the incident and sent to jail custody.
Warrants for cops
The same court reissued bailable arrest warrants for a sub-inspector and a constable who have not been responding to the notices asking them to appear before the judge as prosecution witnesses in a case since 2002.
SI Javed Akthar and constable Altaf Hussain of the Buffer Zone police station have been defying the court’s orders to record their statements in a case (481/02) registered under Sections 324 and 325 of the PPC on Nov 16, 2002.On Nov 29, the court had issued bailable arrest warrants for both policemen and directed them to appear in court at the next hearing, but they failed to do so.
According to the prosecution, officers of the ‘Madadgar 15’ force, acting upon a phone call, rushed to Godhra Chowk and tried to nab two armed men who were robbing people in the locality. The police challenged the men on North Nazimabad Road and ordered them to surrender.
However, the men opened fire, which was returned, and the criminals, later identified as Mohammad Rasheed S/o Mohammad Zaman and Aslam Khan S/o Khan-i-Zaman, were forced to surrender. The prosecution claimed that three TT pistols were recovered form their possession.
Four prosecution witnesses have already recorded their statements in the case.
The court fixed Dec 27 as the next date of hearing.
